emptyText is submitted with the form

Hi all,

If I set emptyText on a text field, then if the form is submitted with the field 'empty' (but showing the emptyText) then the value of emptyText is submitted. I think this value should be display only and never submitted. Typically the value is some sort of prompt which isn't usually sensible to submit.

okey i wrote a small workaround for this.
i'll have to say that i think this patch is less then ideal and i do not recommend patching ext in this way... but if you really want this problem solved try this:

The first and last line of the code block are the existing lines. You'll need to add the this.form.items.each block between them.

Explanation
The form.submit() action uses a form serializer instead of the getValue() field functions the raw dom value is send to the server. (this is the value including emptyText if the field is empty)

So the fix posted above does work, only not for a form.submit() action. Since i do not want to start editing in files other then those of ext themselfs. I build the above work around.

Just before the XHR submit-request to the server, this deletes the emptyText value from the dom. Then when the Ext.lib.Ajax.formRequest serializes the form there is no emptyText in there anymore.

The next time the form validates itself, the emptyText will reappear.

Related problems
You will also hit this problem if you use: form.getValues() as that method also uses the serializer.
This patch will not work for that, but i could use a similar workaround. (again remember, this is not very good
way to work around this... hopefully the ext team will come up with something better, like using getValue() methods or serializers that check for emptyText)

Attachment
The patched file attached here is based on the Ext 1.0.1 release.
Please apply the workaround yourself or do a diff; if you want to apply it on any other version.

Post Scriptum
If your client types the same value as emptyText in your Field the workaround will not do the desired thing. It will consider the typed value the same as emptyText, which it is clearly not. For 9 out of 10 people this will not be a problem, but if it is you should also check the css (aka the light grey text, instead of black typed text)

There has got to be a more elegant way to handle this. Whats the point of having emptyText if it cant gracefully handle the case when the user may have not updated that field. trbs fix sorta works, it blanks out the field. If the submit doesn't work and returns a server side error that requires the form to remain for more changes, the field is not empty, but the emptyText is no longer available. Heck I guess something similar to ComboBox's hiddenName might work (don't get me started on the problems with ComboBox...)

I'm guessing most people use this feature for context hints for fields, or what is the intended purpose of emptyText? A default value? Maybe I'm just using it wrong.

Sorry for the semi-rant, 6 hours sleep in the last 3 days will do that to ya.

I understand your frustration.
I think that the nomenclature for Ext.form.Field's are a bit misleading...

I was confused with the differences between blankText/emptyText at first, and the bugs with emptyText did not help me much either.
However, I think trbs's fix works well though, and I'm sure we'll see a fix and (hopefully) a rename in the next version.

It is not a "bug" with emptyText. You have configured the field to have text in it when it goes empty, instead of being empty. So, when it is submittedto the server, it has the value you asked for it to have. How is this a bug?

Clearing out that value before submit is definitely a desirable option, but it isn't currently implemented or supported. trbs posted a nice workaround. I tried it and it seems to work well.

It is not a "bug" with emptyText. You have configured the field to have text in it when it goes empty, instead of being empty. So, when it is submittedto the server, it has the value you asked for it to have. How is this a bug?

Clearing out that value before submit is definitely a desirable option, but it isn't currently implemented or supported. trbs posted a nice workaround. I tried it and it seems to work well.

Jack,

Empty text is assumed to be used as a helper for customers. I realize what you're saying, but I also assumed it as well. I've since stopped using empty text where fields are not required to be filled in.

Eh, i can see both sides of the fence being right. Perhaps an option to not send the empty text value?